Monaragala

Monera means peacock, and gala means rock.  Monaragala is a town right between the hills and the east coast.  I did not see any peacocks there, nor did I see a rock that looked like a peacock.

Actually, it was a full-moon night, meaning everything was shut down and closed up when the bus rolled in at 7:30 pm.  Even the streetlights were off.  It was like walking around at 3 am, which I found somewhat alarming given that I was alone and carrying everything on my back.  (I am now forced to concede I am probably a target of robbery for most people, unfortunately).

Anyway, it did make finding food and lodging hard, but I found a guesthouse in the end, which gave me a remarkably fair price for a remarkably nice room.

I was just planning on spending the night (seeing as going back to Una pretty much took up the entire day), but I read in my guidebook that you can take a walk through a rubber plantation.  So I spent my morning hiking around the foothills of Monaragala.

Views!

Up close!

Lots of nature!

Lots of trees!

Flowers!

Bamboo!

Rolling hills!

Butterflies!

Rubber trees!

Harvesting raw rubber!

The sap!

Look at all the rubber trees!

Boulders!

Monaragala from above!

And a goat!

And this thing!